Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has merged 5,633 schools with nearby lead schools over the past five years due to persistently low student enrolment, School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond informed the Assembly on Friday.
Responding to a question from Congress MLA Ram Chandra Kadam (Pottangi), Gond said the school mergers were carried out in accordance with the department’s notification No. 5465 dated March 11, 2020, and its subsequent amendment No. 18905 issued on December 14, 2020.
The minister clarified that the move formed part of the state’s broader rationalisation initiative aimed at optimising educational resources and ensuring better academic environments for students. The mergers have been undertaken to consolidate schools with very low enrolment into better-equipped lead schools, he added.
